Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major health problem that leads to chronic liver disease, such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, in a substantial number of infected individuals. Current treatments for HCV infection include immunotherapy with recombinant interferon-α alone or in combination with the nucleoside analog ribavirin.
Several virally-encoded enzymes are putative targets for therapeutic intervention, including a metalloprotease (NS2-3), a serine protease (NS3, amino acid residues 1-180), a helicase (NS3, full length), an NS3 protease cofactor (NS4A), a membrane protein (NS4B), a zinc metalloprotein (NS5A) and an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (NS5B).
One identified target for therapeutic intervention is HCV NS5B polymerase. Sven-Erik Behrens et al., Identification and properties of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of hepatitis C virus, 15(1) EMBO J. 12-22 (1996). Antagonists of NS5B activity are inhibitors of HCV replication. Steven S. Carroll et al., Inhibition of Hepatitis C Virus RNA Replication by 2′-Modified Nucleoside Analogs, 278(14) J. BIOL. CHEM. 11979-84 (2003).
There is a clear and long-felt need to develop effective therapeutics for treatment of HCV infection. Specifically, there is a need to develop compounds that selectively inhibit HCV viral replication and that would be useful for treating HCV-infected patients.